Oklahoma Divorce: Dividing Property

Oklahoma is an equitable distribution state. This means that property will be divided between spouses in a way that is equitable.

If you are getting divorced in Oklahoma, do you know what property
you get to keep and what you have to split with your spouse? Who will be
responsible for your marital debts?

Equitable Division

Oklahoma is an equitable distribution state, meaning that the marital
property will be split between spouses in a way that is just and
reasonable. The court decides what’s just and reasonable based on the
complete picture of how each of you contributed to the marriage and what
each spouse will need to move forward after divorce. The division does
not have to be equal, but it must be fair.

The court’s involvement in the division assumes that you could not
work together with your spouse to resolve your property disputes.
Throughout the divorce process, the spouses will have opportunities to
decide how they want to split their property between themselves. The
court will usually accept a written separation agreement that details
this distribution of property, as approved by both spouses. It is only
where you could not reach a compromise with your spouse that the court
will step in and divide your property for you.

Only Marital Property Will be Divided

Before the court can divide your property, it needs to know which
property belongs to the marriage, which belongs to the spouses
separately, and how much there is of each. Generally, marital property is all property acquired or earned during the marriage, regardless of what title says. Separate
property is property you owned before marriage. It also includes gifts
and inheritances that you receive during marriage. There are
circumstances, however, when an increase in the value of your separate
property will be characterized as marital property.

For example, if you had a cabin before marriage that both spouses
updated and remodeled during marriage, then the increase in the cabin’s
value is marital property because it comes from joint efforts during
marriage. On the other hand, if you bought an investment property in an
up-and-coming neighborhood before marriage and it improves in value
during the marriage simply because the rest of homes in the area do the
same, then that increase in value remains your separate property.

At divorce, the court will divide the marital property. Any separate
property will remain in the hands of the spouse who owned it before or
during marriage, with some exceptions. If you had children during
marriage and your spouse has custody, then the court could give your
spouse some of your separate property to help support the children.
Also, the court could include your separate property if you have a
significant amount of it, there is little marital property, and your
spouse has limited income potential.

Factors Considered in Dividing Property

Rather than rely on a rigid set of rules when splitting property
between spouses, the court has discretion to consider a variety of
factors unique to each marriage. Despite the court’s relative freedom to
decide what is just and reasonable, it should look at how each spouse
contributed to the marriage – including the contributions of a homemaker
– and the conditions each spouse will face alone after the divorce,
such as earning potential, medical needs, and childcare costs. The court
should also review the length of the marriage, the health and ages of
the spouses, tax consequences, and liabilities.

Liabilities, or debts, are among the most common types of property
that must be divided at divorce. The court will treat debts the same as
any other real, personal, or intangible property. Before dividing a
debt, the court will have to characterize it as either marital or
separate and then assign responsibility for it based on the same
equitable principles applied to distribution of assets.

Alimony Satisfied by Separate Property

Alimony is a payment from one spouse to the other to help sustain the
recipient spouse after divorce. If you request alimony in Oklahoma, the
court can order payments based on the value of your spouse’s real and
personal separate property. Although the court will award alimony at the
same time it grants your divorce, you can request temporary support
payments at any time during the divorce process.

Similar to the division of property, the court’s order for alimony
must be just and reasonable. Payments can be periodic (monthly, for
example), or as a lump sum. The amount of support is based on many of
the same factors as the division of property. Some other factors include
your education and earning capacity, whether you contributed to your
spouse’s education and earning power during marriage, and the standard
of marital living you enjoyed. The court is also free to look at any
factor relevant to the award of support, such as your spouse’s ability
to pay.